Marine Harvest achieved an operational EBIT of NOK 1.09 billion (USD 182.6 million, EUR 131.81 million) in the first quarter of 2014, compared to NOK 482 million (USD 80.7 million, EUR 58.3 million) in the same time period last year.
The company’s Norwegian salmon operations achieved an operational EBIT per kilo of NOK 12.82 (USD 2.15, EUR 1.55) in the quarter, up from NOK 8.39 (USD 1.40, EUR 1.01) in 2013. Salmon from the company’s Scottish and Canadian operations saw operational EBIT per kilo of NOK 12.66 (USD 2.12, EUR 1.53) and NOK 9.10 (USD 1.52, EUR 1.10), up from NOK 7.87 (USD 1.32, EUR 0.95) and NOK 6.63 (USD 1.11, EUR 0.80) respectively. Salmon from the company’s Chile operations reached operational EBIT per kilo of NOK 6.73 (USD 1.13, EUR 0.81), compared to a loss of NOK 6.27 (USD 1.05, EUR 0.76) in the first quarter of 2013.
The salmon farming giant harvested 92.243 metric tons (MT) in the quarter, compared to 80,035 MT in the same quarter last year. The company has increased it’s harvest goal for 2014 from 405,000 MT to 417,000 MT.
“The first quarter of 2014 was a strong quarter for Marine Harvest. We see both record high prices and profit. As a consequence of the good results, the board has proposed a quarterly dividend of NOK 5 per share. The results are negatively impacted by high contract share in the quarter. Further, we still see a potential for even stronger results by improving the production costs in many areas of our operation,” said CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog.
“The demand in the first quarter was very high, and we expect this to continue. We are encouraged by the high future prices, given the relatively high supply growth for the remainder of the year. I’m convinced that the combination of strong operational performance and high financial flexibility puts us in a great position for further development.”
